Cape Breton Fiddlers' Association Celebrates Canada 150

Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association Hosts Annual Festival

HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY, CANADA

Witness the magic of Cape Breton fiddle music when the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association hosts its 44th annual Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling on Saturday, August 19th and Sunday, August 20th on the grounds of the beautiful Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, Victoria County.

Fiddlers will perform new and old tunes. You will hear compositions of Dan R. MacDonald, Dan H. MacEachern, Jerry Holland, Brenda Stubbert, Kinnon Beaton, etc. The music of old-country composers such as Neil Gow, James Scott Skinner, will also be played. These compositions are unique features in the repertoire of the Cape Breton fiddler. Together with our fiddlers at the festival, we will also showcase dancers, pianists, vocalists, guitarists, and pipers. This year we will also be joined by a dulcimer player and his band!

The Festival of Cape Breton Fiddling 2017 begins with a series of fiddle, piano, and stepdance workshops on Saturday, August 19th, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. These workshops will be conducted by some of the Association’s finest performers/instructors. As in the past, Saturday evening will begin with a concert, followed by a traditional ceilidh in MacKenzie Hall. During this ceilidh, time will be allotted for those performers who are visitors to our events as well as our own musicians.

The Finale Concert on Sunday, August 20th, will take place at the Performance Centre on the field overlooking beautiful St. Ann’s Bay. Musicians from across Cape Breton Island, throughout mainland Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and other parts of Canada and the United States will assemble on the grounds of the Gaelic College to participate in this annual tradition. The concert begins at 2:00 p.m. and ends at 7:00 p.m.

Betty Matheson, Committee Spokesperson, says “we are looking forward to this year’s festival, especially to help Canada celebrate a milestone. To mark this occasion, we are pleased to announce that one of our local well-known fiddlers, Kinnon Beaton, has prepared a special tune to be included among the strathspeys and reels. Kinnon’s tune, Canada 150, is a fantastic addition to our repertoire. Come out and enjoy hearing all the music of the past and the future!